The King’s anger at seasonal rumours

For the umpteenth time, King Abdullah finds himself forced to reply to the rumours that start to spread every year about turning Jordan into a substitute homeland for the Palestinian people.

At a meeting with the country’s top politicians on Sunday, before he started an East Asian tour, and on the heels of visits to Mexico, the US and the UK, the King said he has been making these same statements over the past 15 years, ever since ascending to the Throne.

He said that these rumours get spread by the same group of people who seek to achieve personal gains and to distinguish themselves by spreading the fear that the country and its identity are threatened by peace efforts.

The King asked this small group to stop and focus on other things than such harmful behaviour, reassuring the citizens that such rumours are baseless.

Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine, and they will remain two entities as has always been the case and as it will be in the future, the King reaffirmed, expressing hope that he would not be prompted to make any such statement again.

If the same happens next year, the King said he will have to announce the names of people who spread such rumours.

The King’s anger at those who keep talking about a substitute homeland over and over is understandable, as no one in Jordan is thinking of or is ready to accept any such scheme. Not the Jordanian people nor the Palestinian people who hope to crown their decades-long struggle and sacrifices by establishing their state on their national soil west of the River Jordan.

Their efforts towards that end are being supported by all their Jordanian brethren. None of the two peoples would accept anything less than that.

His Majesty and the Jordanian government and people have not spared any effort to aid the Palestinian people in their honourable quest, which will hopefully materialise sooner than later.

Jordanians have to rest assured that their leadership would not accept any peaceful settlement that comes at the expense of the Jordanian or Palestinian peoples, as the rumour- mongers claim.

As the King said, the country will not accept any amount of money in return for any compromise that would come at the expense of its national interests.

He stressed that people have to ignore such rumours and focus on more important issues pertaining to nation building, such as political and economic reforms that should bring about a better future for the country and its people.